Wuchong
Medical advances have been slowing lengthening the average human lifespan, but few have come to pursue longevity as relentless as the Wuchong. Cybernetic organs, artificial body fluids, and digital nerves can all greatly prolong a man's life, practically to the point of clinical immortality. But such things are very expensive. It's little wonder that the Wuchong spend so much time trying to amass wealth... how else can they hope to live forever? History The Wuchong can trace the earliest roots of their tradition to a consortium of businessmen in Hong Kong during the Aevum Purgans who were interested in living longer lives, particularly with the declining air and water quality across much of China. Money could buy them finer quality of life, so why not also increase the quantity of life? The consortium began investing, quite heavily, in medical treatments and therapies which promised longer life, and the movement became popular among successful businessmen and women in Hong Kong. It became fashionable to prolong one's youth, and to be able to introduce one's self with one's advanced age. To live for more than a century became a mark of success. The people of means who sought longer lives came to call themselves "Wuchong", which roughly translates to "Endless". This Tradition began to grow during the Titanic Revolution, as the populist tide ushered in by the Titans' assault on the old guard offered hope that the medical therapies enjoyed by the privlidged would be able to be shared by all. And for awhile, it was good. People were able to escape the toxic air and water with increasingly-advanced artificial organs. They were living longer, better lives. But the advancements were not all that were promised. The First Dying One of the great tragedies during the Aevum Titanicum was the First Dying. Wuchong technology and prostheses had become widely-use, but it soon became apparent that even newer designs were at risk of ravaging the human body they were implanted into. Mass prothesis-failure began to plague the Wuchong, and people were faced with difficult choices: they would need more artificial organs to replace their failing ones, and to protect against further failure. The wealthy could afford to purchase newer and better organs for themselves, to stave off death for awhile longer, but the poor could not. Many died from prothesis-failure during the First Dying. Whole families were buried together in mass-graves. But the wealthiest and most prosperous families survived. The twelve greatest of the Wuchong families came together at the end of the First Dying and agreed that such a tragedy should never again befall the Wuchong. It was agreed that prothesis was a basic human right, and that it was their responsibility to provide loans to those who could not afford a prothesis. And it is this basic arrangement that continued on for centuries. The Twelve Families The Wuchong are dominated by twelve very powerful families, each of which is headed by a patriarch (or matriarch) who is at least a century old. These patriarchs have lived for so long and had so many prosthesic organs implanted, changed and replaced that they often have very little left of their original organic bodies. Such extensively prothestic or cybernetic beings are derided as "liches" by the people of other traditions, who regard them as inhuman or monstrous. Still, among the Wuchong, to be able to trace one's lineage back through one of these families is a point of pride. To be able to claim a parent living for several hundred years is considered the mark of a "good family". To be able to trace direct decent from one of the patriarchs makes one even more prominent still. *'Min:' The Min were a family torn apart by internal strife. A patriarch or matriarch rarely sat in power for long before some arrogant offspring decided that he (or she) would make a better leader. Many of the Min would abandon their collapsing house during the Tempore Tribulationes in all but name, becoming deeply involved in the founding of The Guild. They have been without a Patriarch since the Pax Caeli. *'Kun:' For generations, the Kun were real estate moguls. They revolutionized the industry by being among the first to purchase wide swaths of land beneath the major cities in China and Japan and began carving out whole new underground neighborhoods. The Patriarch of the Kun lived for 1400 years in one of the deepest neighborhoods dug beneath the surface of Bejing. *'Hwan:' A family original from Korea, the Hwan secured their place in the Wuchong power structure with their stranglehold on electronics manufacture. While many Hwan are seen as impetuous, the family has earned respect for its passionate embrace of social issues, making it one of the more populist families among the Wuchong. The Matriarch of the Hwan lived for 1200 years in an underground manor, a gift from the Kun. *'Chang:' Similar in many ways to the Hwan, the Chang were great instigators for the well-being of the poor Wuchong. But unlike the Hwan, the Chang lacked the endurance to maintain their power to any great degree. Many Chang abandoned their family in all but name during the Pax Caeli, while their cousins in Singapore grew fat and lazy. The last Chang Patriarch was a tyrant who tried to turn Singapore into his own personal necropolis. He was dispatched by the Longstrider in 3357. *'Takashi:' Originally a Japanese family which had risen to prominence and wealth as experts in international trade and currency exchange. They have since become intermediaries between the Wuchong families, helping to keep the peace and to keep the wheels of commerce moving. The Takashi Patriarch lived in a lavish complex beneath Tokyo, courtesy of the Kun. *'Ru:' The Ru family originally gained much of their wealth from their control over lithium mines in China, and over the centuries expanded their mining across the globe and even into space. They are a very insular clan, even more untrustworthy of outsiders than the Pamoja. The Ru Patriarch lived beneath Century City for centuries. *'Xuan:' A Vietnamese family who owned countless hotels and resorts, the Xuan saw a rare second "golden age" during the Pax Caeli, rising to become the preeminent Wuchong family during this time. The Xuan Matriarch was one of the few who traveled regularly. Other Xuan frequent the best social gatherings and celebrations in Wuchong and other communities. *'Haruka:' Prominent art dealers, the Haruka family was one that "wilted on the vine", so to speak. Its Patriarch was said not to live, but to slumber under the city of Hokaido. The clan withered away during the Novus Aevum Foedera, particularly as The Berlin Pact came into power in Hokaido, particularly the Musashi. *'Hui:' The Wuchong came to depend on the medical advance of the Varisa, but would be absolutely crippled without the medical atristry of the Hui. Many of the Hui family studied medical arts, putting to practice and to use the protheses and cybernetics developed by the Varisa. Their Patriarch lived for 1100 years beneath Tibet after the Hui used the island to build one of the greatest hospitals the world had ever seen. *'Jun:' Arms manufacturers and dealers, the Jun were among the slowest to adopt new prosthetic or cybernetic technology. It is said that during the height of the Guild Wars, the Jun sold so many weapons that they could claim every fourth casualty as their own. The Jun Matriarch did not find this particular statistic amusing, but it did prove profitable. *'Jia:' A family of energy moguls, their time of prosperity faded with the construction of the Tsiolkovsky Towers. Their Matriarch was one of the individuals instrumental in founding The Guild and seizing control of the towers, and it led to the revitalization of her family's power. She was believed to have been slain in the Guild Wars, but turned up alive again several years after. *'Ling:' The Ling shipping empire did not survive the Wars of Kinslaying, and the family has since all but collapsed. Centuries of bad luck have plagued the Lings, and they have not had a Patriarch since the start of the Guild Wars. Category:Games Category:Paradox Category:Paradox Groups